Switch for street-car tracks



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. C. R. OSBURNE. SWITCH FOR STREET GARTRACKS.

Patented July 28, 1396;

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SWITCH POR STREET GAR TRACKS. No. 564,837. Patented Julyz, 1896.

"l` l l l n l l l l l UNITED STAT-Es PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES R. OSBORNE, OF DANBURY, CONNECTICUT.

SWITCH FOR STREET-CAR TRACKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 564,837, dated July 28,1896.

Application iiled November 2l, 1895. Serial No. 569,707. (No model.)

T0 all whom t may con/cern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. OSEOENE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Danbury, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSwitches for Street- Car Tracks; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

My invention relates to certain new and Auseful improvements in switchesfor streetrailway tracks, and has for its object to provide such aswitch as shall be very positive in its operation and not likely to getout of order, while at the same time the construction is quite simple.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application,Figure 1 is a plan of a short section of a track equipped with myimprovement; Fig. 2, a vertical sectional elevation of the same; Fig. 3,an interior bottom View; Fig. 4, a side elevation of a section of track,illustrating the device for raising the bell-crank; and Fig. 5, aperspective of such device in elevated position.

Similar numerals of reference denote like parts in the several iiguresofthe drawings.

1 represents the main line of track, and 2 is the track divergingtherefrom in connection with which my improvement is to be used. At thejunction of these two main tracks is the usual pivoted frog 3, the freeor apex end whereof has depending therefrom a pin et, which passesthrough a slot 5, cut or otherwise formed in the track at that point.

In order to properly protect the various parts of my improvement7 Iprovide a box 6, which is properly sunken beneath the ground under thetrack, and within this box I coniine certain operative parts of myimprovement, which I will now describe.

7 is a disk which is journaled in any suitable and ordinary manner atthe top of the box 6 so as to be capable of revolution in a horizontalplane, and this disk is provided with a slot 8, the plane of whichcrosses the plane of the slot 5, within which slot 8 the pin 4 extends.It will thus be clearly seen that connection is thereby establishedbetween the disk and the frog 3, so that when said disk is reciprocatedto and fro the frog will likewise be reciprocated.

9 is a shaft which is journaled in any suitable manner in brackets 10,Vsecured to the box 6, and from one extremity of this shaft extends acrank 11.

12 is a pitman whose extremities are pivoted, respectively, to the crank11 and the disk 7, whereby when the shaft 9 is rocked said disk willlikewise be rocked.

f 13 is a ratchet-wheel rigid on the shaft 9, and 14 is a pinion'looseon'said shaft but carrying a spring-actuated pawl 15, which normallyengages with the teeth on said ratchet, so that it will be clear thatwhen the pinion is revolved in one direction there will be no movementof the shaft, since the pawl will ride freely over the ratchet, but whenthe reverse movement of the pinion takes place the engagement of thepawl and ratchet will of course be such as to lock the pinion and shafttogether, whereby the latter will be revolved.

The main track is cut away, as seen at 16, and within this particularportion is pivoted a lbell-crank lever 17, the upper end whereof whendepressed to a level with the track is of such a width as to leave aspace beneath the same in the cut-away portion 16, while the lower endof this lever is shaped into a segment-gear 18, which normally engageswith the pinion' 14.

The means which I employ for raising the bell-crank I will now describe.

19 20 are two auxiliary inclined tracks formed on the upper part of thebox 6, and pivoted one each side of the track at one end of the box 6are levers 21 22.

23 24 are levers the upper ends of which are pivoted to the ends of thelevers 21 22, respectively.

25 26 are rectangular-shaped blocks pivoted to the free ends of thelevers 23 24, and normally resting on the auxiliary tracks 19 20.

27 is a cross-bar which connects the levers 21 22 together and restsbeneath and supports the bell-crank 17. The auxiliary tracks 19 2O areprovided with notches or depres- IOO sions 28 29, within which theblocks 25 26 are adapted to enter when the bell-crank lever 17 is inraised position, as shown in Fig. 5.

In Operating my improvement the motorman or driver depresses a lever orother device carried by the car (as shown in dotted lines at Fig. 4) insuch manner'as to cause the blocks 25 26 to be pushed within the notchesin the auxiliary tracks 19 20, and said notches are made of a suicientdepth to permit the said blocks 25 26 to drop beneath the iield oftravel of the device carried by the car. This operation will cause theupper end of the bellcrank lever to be raised to an elevated position,as shown in Fig. 5, thereby causing the lower end of said bell-crank toeffect the rotation of thepinion 14. As the pinion thus rotates, thepawl will run over the ratchet-teeth, so that there will be no movementof the shaft but as the car advances the wheels will strike againsttheupperor raised end of the lever and will force the latter down to ahorizontal position, thereby eecting the reverse movement of the segmentand causingthe pinion and shaft t0 revolve in harmony, whereby the disk7 will be turned to Operate the frog. The movement of the car indepressing the upper end of the bell-crank will, as is obvious,simultaneously return the parts for elevating said bell-crank tonormalposition.

30 is anopening inthe top of the box 6 through which the lower part oflthebell-crank extends.

The motorman or driver can tell ata glance whether the switch isproperly set, and the elevation of the upper end of the bell-crank isaccomplished with great facility.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a switch forstreet-car tracks, the combination 'of thehorizontallydisposed disk j ournaledbeneath the track and having thereina slot, the pivoted frog having at its free end a pin which dependsthrough an Opening in the track into said slot, the box beneath thetrack, the shaft j ournaled within said box and having rigidly mountedthereon a ratchet,

the pinion loose On said shaft and'carrying a spring-actuated pawl whichnormally engages with said ratchet, the crank extendingfrom said shaft,the pitman having its extremities pivoted respectively tosaid crankanddisk, and the -bellecrank pivoted Within an Openin g in the track andhaving its upper end capable of being elevated and lowered while itsOpening inthe track and loosely engages with said disk at a pointeccentric to its axis of rotation, the crank extending from said shaft,

the pitman having one end pivoted to said :crank while the other end ispivoted tothe bottom of said disk at or near its periphery,

and the pivoted lever carrying a segment-gear which engages with saidpinion by the elevationand depression of whieh'lever saidpin- -ion isoperatedl to effect the turning ofthe frog, substantially as set forth.

3. In a switch for street-car tracks, the combination of aAbell-cranklever pivoted to the track and adapted to actuate instrumentali- `tiescontained within a box beneath the track for operating the switch, theauxiliary tracks v19, 20,-the levers 21, 22, pivoted to said tracks, 4

the cross-bar-27 which connects said levers 'and rests normally beneaththe upper end of the bell-crank` 17, the levers 23,24, pivoted to thelevers 21, 22, and carryingblocksz25,

26, which normally rest uponsaid auxiliary.

tracks, for the purpose set forth.

4; In a switch for street-car tracks, thecombination of abell-crankleverpivotedtoV thevtrack andadapted to actuate instrumentali-:ties for operating the switch, the auxiliary tracks at. either sideofthe car-track, the levers 21, 22, pivoted in close proximity to thecar-track and connected bya cross-bar which rests normally beneath vtheupper end of; said ybell-crank, the levers 23, 2l, pivoted atene end tosaid levers 21, 22, and carrying at their free ends blocks 25, 26, whichnormally` rest upon said auxiliary tracks, and are adapted r to enterrecesses 28, 20, in said tracks when the upper end of said bell-crank iselevated,1 substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In'testimony whereof vI ax my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHAS. R. OSBORNE. lVitnesses:

JOHN R. BOOTH, ALMOND D. POWERS.

IOO

